Waterless urinals are becoming more widely used because of costs savings attributed to conservation of water. These waterless devices are not flushed with water each time a person uses them. As the waterless urinal is repeatedly used, urine is collected in a compartment of the urinal, typically a plumbing trap where the volume of urine prevents the escape of sewer gases built up on the sewer side of the trap. A sealing liquid that is immiscible with the urine and is lighter than the urine covers the collected urine. This sealing liquid floats on the surface of the urine, serving as a barrier that prevents odors from the urinal escaping to the environment. In certain embodiments, such waterless urinals include a removable cartridge having a top with an opening therein in communication with a compartment. Such cartridges hold a sealing liquid that allows passage of urine into the compartment, through the sealing liquid. In certain designs, a stand pipe type drain is in communication with the compartment that allows the compartment to be drained continually to a sewer or other waste disposal system as the compartment is filled with urine.
With increasing emphasis on water conservation, there is continuing interest in toilets and urinals designed to minimize the amount of water consumed in flushing, to mitigate excessive demands on both water supplies and wastewater disposal systems, both of which have become overloaded with increasing populations. Unfortunately, waterless toilets and urinals often leave a user with an unpleasant experience because of the malodorous smell of urine reaching the user due to ineffective drain trap means, whether those means are mechanical, chemical, or a combination of both. Overcoming such drawbacks is highly desirable to urinal retailers and manufacturers and, as well, to those concerned with resource conservation.
U.S. Pat. No. 303,822 (D'Heureuse) discloses a wastewater pipe S-trap into which a disinfectant or deodorizer is introduced. The use of an oil as a re-circulated flushing medium in a toilet system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,909 (Rod, et al.). The use of oil in toilets to form an odor trap is disclosed in German Patent No. 121356 (Beck, et al.) and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,050,290 (Posson) and 4,028,747 (Newton). Other examples of oil-sealed traps are found in German Patent No. 2816597.1, and Swiss Patent No. 606,646 (Ernst). In addition, various odor seals for waterless urinals are disclosed in the following references: U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,411 to Gorges; U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,037 to Reichardt et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,197 to Gorges; U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,339 to Gorges et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,541 to Romagna et al.; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2003/0089397 A1.
Although various liquid sealants useful for odor suppression have been previously-described, there remains a need in the art for liquid sealants possessing odor suppressing qualities for use in drain traps, particularly in waterless urinals.